


bewitch me (amid the bombs, amid the war)

by Cami740



Category: Fifth Harmony (Band)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Fluff, Romance, and have no regrets at all!!!, in which i write fanfic for college
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-19
Updated: 2016-08-19
Packaged: 2018-08-09 19:25:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7814164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cami740/pseuds/Cami740
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>when war breaks out, lauren feels like it's her obligation to join the soviet air force and defend her homeland. she didn't expect to find love, she wasn't looking for it. yet somehow it found her, amid the bombs, amid the war, amid the fucked up mess that her life turned into. night witches/world war 2 pilots au.</p>
<p>or: lauren finds her purpose and her new friends come as an extra but honestly? the biggest gift of all is meeting camila.</p>
            </blockquote>





	bewitch me (amid the bombs, amid the war)

**Author's Note:**

> hey people! let’s ignore the fact that neither them nor their names are russian for this to work, lol. hope you like it!

The day is June 22nd of 1941. For most of the soviet people, a historical changing point, the birth of a war. For Lauren, a personal changing point, the birth of a purpose.

When you’re nineteen years old and you work at a factory in Leningrad, without expecting ever doing anything else, purpose becomes something hard to find. Even harder, once found, is to hold onto it, to not let it escape, to not let it run away like water flows through the hands of those who try to hold it.

On that day, Lauren promised herself that she wouldn’t let her purpose escape.

* * *

When Lauren tried to volunteer for the Soviet Union’s Air Force for the first time, it was a sunny day.

Ironic, if the aura of desolation and fury of the people was taken into consideration.

Hundreds of teenagers and young adults were waiting, just like her, in the huge local recruitment line, trying to join the Air Force to make up for the damage caused by Germany. And as the hours passed by and her turn approached her, Lauren couldn’t help the way she fell into the deep waters of her thoughts.

The whole thing had started innocently. Lauren’s younger brother, Chris, had always idolized aviators and, having spent a big part of her childhood and teenage years looking after him and her baby sister, Taylor, she had eventually come to love aviation as well.

When Lauren heard of Marina Raskova for the first time, in 1935, both her and Chris had been so shocked and in awe of her that Lauren had decided to ask her parents to be part of Osoaviakhim, the Union of Societies of Assistance to Defense and Aviation-Chemical Construction of the USSR, a prestigious paramilitary organization, where she would learn everything about aviation. But she was only fourteen at the time and, even though it was allowed to join that early, her request had been quickly denied and it would continue to be so until her seventeenth birthday, when her parents finally said “yes” and let her become a member of the organization.

Chris had seemed to be torn between euphoria for seeing his sister so happy and despair for not being able to participate himself. He had even cried a little and Lauren had only hoped it was out of happiness, though she couldn’t have known the feeling behind it.

Now, with a war breaking out and the Soviet Union in extreme need of pilots, Lauren proudly carried her membership medal, holding in firm hands the bag with all the paperwork that showed just how great she was. She knew she would qualify, that she was better than many of those who were there, better than most of them, probably.

Lauren also knew that her decision of volunteering was the reason why her mother, Clara, had cried compulsively for almost an hour, while her father, Mike, had almost had a stroke. They had all argued for an entire day until her parents realized that Lauren wouldn’t give up on fighting for her country. The fighting had only gotten worse when Taylor insisted on going as well, but Lauren had to side with her parents then. She was a few days short of turning twenty, while her sister was only fifteen and had no experience in flying. It certainly wasn’t her time to go to war.

As for Chris… He had been quiet, exceptionally quiet, when Lauren revealed what she wanted to do. Having always been very close to her brother, his reaction worried her, but she hadn’t questioned him. One look had been strong enough for Lauren to know that he understood her. Later that day, Chris had cried again in her presence when they were alone, and that time, she had cried as well.

That time, Lauren was sure that it wasn’t out of happiness.

Everything had led her to where she was now, at the recruitment line. Suddenly, almost as if in a blink of an eye, it was her turn, and chills went down her spine as she heard her name being called.

She walked into the designated office, where a man with gray hair was frowning at the papers in front of him like it was the last thing he wanted to do. Lauren guessed it probably was.

“Good morning.” He said, without looking up.

“Good morning, sir.” She answered, trying to keep her voice firm and clear.

The military officer seemed nervous, uneasy, as Lauren came closer. The door had been opened and she had been called, so she entered the room without knocking, but she didn’t sit down on the chair between her and the big table where he rested his papers. She would wait for the man’s invitation, but he still hadn’t addressed her, only running his hand through his hair and moving his mouth as if he was whispering secrets to the wind, though no sound could be heard. Finally, he lifted his eyes and observed her for only a second before gesturing for her to sit down. As he did so, Lauren noticed what was bothering him so much: the physical losses with the German attack of the previous day.

Lauren quickly understood the officer. She would be uneasy in his shoes as well.

She was already uneasy, not even being a part of the Air Force, she couldn’t even imagine the amount of stress he must have been under. Even so, Lauren was surprised at the way he reached out with his palm up without even looking twice her way.

Lauren assumed he expected her certificates and quickly opened her messenger bag to give him the papers. The silence inside the room was so intense that if it wasn’t for the turmoil of voices outside it, Lauren would probably be able to hear her own heart thundering inside her chest.

The officer looked at them without much care, hastily going through the pages, his face still contorted into a frown. The whole process didn’t take more than ten seconds and, by the end of it, the man politely gave her back the papers, but the distaste he was feeling was evident in his features.

“I’m sorry, Miss Lauren Jauregui, but we cannot accept you.” He said, his voice low and firm.

Lauren’s eyes went wide. The officer _couldn’t_ be serious, could he? He had barely looked at her papers, that expressed so well just how great were her abilities!

“Pardon me for questioning your choice, sir, but you do realize that I’m acclaimed by Osoaviakhim, right? I have this medal to prove it, look.” Lauren held out the bit of her coat in which the medal was pinned, showing it to the officer, who only nodded.

“Yes, miss, but we have a problem here that should be obvious: as a woman, you cannot join the Air Force.” He answered simply, his calm voice contrasting the anxiety he showed as he once again ran his hand through his hair.

Lauren felt her blood boil. She knew her face must have been red with anger, shame and humiliation, all at once. Why had he gone through her papers, then? Why had she been allowed to wait hours in line, why had she been allowed hope?

“I’m sorry, miss, but war isn’t for young ladies.”

Lauren didn’t argue. She didn’t yell or flounce, she didn’t tell the officer to go fuck himself like she wanted to, she didn’t turn over his stupid desk. As angry as she was, she didn’t do any of that because she knew that if she ever hoped to join the Air Force, she had to behave. And so Lauren behaved.

Without another word, Lauren gathered her papers and got up. Without looking back and without the polite goodbye that was probably expected of her, she walked out of the room with long steps. Her boots thumped against the wooden floor as she made herself to the exit, without even going to the reception table. Maybe she should have gone to it, but Lauren didn’t know the rules and since she wasn’t given any instructions, she didn’t owe them anything.

It was summer and the day was sunny, but it was still cold. Nothing compared to winters Lauren had bared, but she still took advantage of the fact to pull up her coat’s collar and keep her head down so no one noticed the tears that threatened to fall.

* * *

Chills went down Lauren’s spine, but she was absolutely sure it wasn’t from the cold. After all, Moscow’s weather was warmer than Leningrad’s in the summer, to the point where Lauren felt a little bit hot and stuffed inside her coat as she got off the train.

If someone were to ask her what she was doing, Lauren wouldn’t be able to answer. All she knew was that Marina Raskova was leading a campaign for women to be allowed to join the military and, no matter how long it took until they were accepted, Lauren wanted to help somehow.

Unfortunately, neither she nor her parents knew exactly how she could be of assistance, but she had an idea, one that they had immediately hated. Lauren had expected them to forbid her from going to Moscow. But they surely hadn’t expected her to run away in the middle of the night.

Thinking back, maybe that hadn’t been her best choice, but the past was in the past and the present was a big puzzle that Lauren needed to solve.

Lauren wasn’t completely inconsequent, though. She had gotten in touch with one of her friends from Osoaviakhim, Normani, who had moved to Moscow with her husband, Arin, about a year ago and, like her, wanted to go to war. Normani had quickly offered to take her in for as long as it took since her husband was also a good friend of Lauren’s. Besides, he was a somewhat famous singer and was travelling around the Soviet Union, so he wouldn’t even know.

Lauren suspected that Arin hadn’t agreed with Normani about her volunteering to go to war, but that he also wouldn’t been able to control her, even if he tried. Which he had, in the past, despite their love for each other. Arin had failed, obviously; the thought of _anyone_ trying to control Normani was borderline comical. Lauren proved her own mental point by letting out a small laugh and shook her head a little when she realized that was another one of the similarities she shared with her friend.

Regardless of what Normani would do, though, Lauren needed to find her apartment, being guided by the map that her friend had drawn in one of her letters. It seemed easy enough and luckily close to the train station, so Lauren guessed she didn’t have anything to worry about.

As she walked, Lauren let her mind wander. The map indicated that she needed to go straight ahead for a while, until she saw Normani’s street’s sign, and she couldn’t help the way her thoughts took over on the way there.

Life wasn’t bad in Leningrad. Lauren was happy at her job; she had good friends, was paid well and loved her family with all of her heart. She missed them so much that even thinking about them made her chest constrict with… not regret, no, but guilt. Guilt for the pain that they’ll probably feel when they realize what happened, guilt for her mother’s cries and for her father’s disappointment. Guilt for Taylor, for leaving her even though she knew how much she was needed by her sister, no matter how much the younger girl always encouraged her. Most of all, guilt for not even having said goodbye to Chris. Her brother was the person Lauren loved the most in the world and she couldn’t imagine the sadness, the mix of longing, pride and concern, that he probably would feel in her absence.

Lauren shook her head to clear it of her thoughts. No, life wasn’t bad in Leningrad, but it missed something that drove her forward, a finality that justified her existence, so to say. Lauren hoped to find it here, in Moscow, and, later, if she were lucky, among the clouds.

* * *

When Lauren tried to volunteer for the Soviet Union’s Air Force for the second time, she wasn’t alone.

“I’m sure they can’t refuse us this time, Laur. If Stalin himself called upon us, no one would dare tell us no.” Normani exclaimed excitedly as they waited in line.

Lauren couldn’t contain her smile. After three months of campaign, a speech by Marina Raskova and even more war damage, Stalin had finally given in and asked for women’s help. Thousands of women, some still girls, had come from all over the country to Moscow, where Raskova herself interviewed and selected those who she deemed fit. To top it off, other important personnel, like mechanics and armament fitters, would also be women, so even if Lauren didn’t get to do what she wanted, she could still help win this war.

“And with Raskova doing the inspecting, they’ll surely choose us. I can already hear the training orders.” Normani laughed, nudging Lauren with her shoulder.

Lauren laughed as well, but tried to get rid of her smile to play along. “Don’t think so highly of yourself, Mani, could end up being bad for ya.”

Normani simply rolled her eyes with a smirk. “Please, as if they would say no to two Osoaviakhim medalists.”

“I hope you’re right,” was all Lauren could say.

* * *

Normani was right. The interview with Marina Raskova had been one of the most terrifying and intimidating things Lauren had ever done. Still, when Raskova had asked her if she wasn’t afraid to die, Lauren had lifted up her chin and said that, if that were the case, she would make sure to drag as many Nazis with her as possible.

Her celebration with Normani hadn’t lasted long, though, since right after she was approved, Lauren received the news that the siege of Leningrad had gotten worse, with even more bombings. Quite some time had passed since the last time she had received a letter from her family, thanks to the interruption on the communication lines.

Silence fell upon them after receiving the information, but even filled with worry Lauren set herself in motion. There was no time to lose, the faster they got rid of the Germans, the faster she’d reencounter her family. With a lump in her throat and a clenched jaw, Lauren packed quickly and methodically. She refused to cry, not now, not after achieving her one goal.

The more time went by with the silent resignation that she had a mission to accomplish, the more Lauren managed to calm herself. On the train to Engels, where the training would begin, she could already joke around and smile despite the permanent worry in the back of her mind.

It seemed to Lauren that her purpose had come at the cost of her family and she didn’t know how to feel about that.

* * *

The first order Lauren received in Engels was to sew her clothes. At first she had laughed loudly, thinking it had to be some kind of joke, but when the officer in charge, along with all the women who hadn’t laughed – which were most of them, truth be told, though some had followed after Lauren with a few giggles – looked at her, she quickly realized that no, it wasn’t a joke _at all._

“Is there a problem here, miss…?” He asked.

“Lauren Michelle Jauregui, sir. No, sir, forgive me.” Lauren answered, looking straight forward, without meeting his eyes. Respect, without submission.

With her peripheral vision, she saw the man nod and instantly relaxed her stance, taking a deep breath. Normani nudged her, trying to contain her laughter, but Lauren just nudged her back seriously, still nervous about what had happened.

They soon started working. As it turned out, it was necessary that the women sewed and patched up their uniforms, since the male ones were the only ones available and those were way too big for them.

Lauren and Normani were seated in one of the sewing tables, somewhat isolated from the rest of the women, talking animatedly while patching up her clothes, when the former felt thin fingers tapping on her shoulder. Turning around, she came to face a young woman like herself, only shorter. Her skin was also a little more tanned and her long braided hair was of a slightly lighter shade of brown. They matched the girl’s eyes, also brown, that stared right into her own emerald green ones. Lauren felt her cheeks grow warmer when she realized she had been staring for longer than would be acceptable, but she couldn’t help herself after being caught off guard by the girl’s beauty.

“Can I help you?” Lauren asked after gulping.

The young woman shook her head with a small smile, as if she was getting out of her own trance.

“Oh, yes! Sorry, I zoned out for a moment.” Her smile got bigger and Lauren found herself mirroring the girl’s expression. “My name is Karla Camila Cabello and honestly, I just wanted to tell you that I thought the way you answered Major Olegov was incredible. It was… respect, without submission.

Lauren’s smile grew wider, even though that hadn’t been her intention.

“Thank you, Karla Camila.” She answered, hearing a muffled laugh from Normani by her side. Lauren barely had time to glare at her before her newest acquaintance started talking again.

“Please, call me Camila. It’s the name I go by and besides, there’s no need for formalities. We’re not strangers anymore, are we?” Camila reached her hand out after she finished talking and Lauren took it in her own and squeezed it lightly. Camila then turned to Normani with a smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you as well.”

“Normani Kordei Hamilton, the pleasure is all mine.” Normani was the one to extend her hand this time and Camila was quick to hold it. “Why don’t you come sit with us? We’re a little isolated, to be honest.”

Lauren stole a glance at her friend, trying to mask the surprise in her expression. Normani was the only person who knew that Lauren was attracted to women, not men. That is, the only one besides the girl from Osoaviakhim who Normani had caught Lauren kissing. When the entire world and, especially, your own nation and family, told you that something was wrong, immoral, even dirty, Lauren wouldn’t go around announcing that that something was a part of who she was. She’d had the best of luck when, after a period of initial shock, Normani hadn’t stopped being her friend. On the contrary, the incident had ended up making their bond even stronger.

“Sure, great idea! I’ll just go get my friend to join us, excuse me.” Camila answered, bringing Lauren back to the present.

As soon as Camila was out of earshot, Lauren turned to Normani once again. “What are you doing?!”

The girl only smiled. “Come on now, Laur, I’m only helping you out, nothing else.”

* * *

Lauren quickly developed a routine. Training was hard, but so was war, so she knew she should have expected nothing less. Even so, training from twelve to fourteen hours was, at least, exhausting. They should learn to fly solo, in pairs, during the day and during the night, with and without adequate gear. They should learn the functions of navigator and pilot, how to fly with and without communication with the ground and even with simple maps. Bombings were a big part of the training, since it was one of the things they would do most during the war. But that didn’t stop them from being trained in the also very important air-to-air combat even though their airplanes, the wood and fabric Polikarpov PO-2, had no guns.

Most women started out with an instructor, but since Lauren and Normani didn’t need that initial training, they were assigned to work as instructors for the less experienced girls. Because of that, Lauren ended up instructing Camila for a few days, while Normani had been made responsible for the initial training of the girl’s best friend, Dinah. Still, Marina Raskova didn’t allow said training to go completely unsupervised and always had one of the real instructors fly around a little bit with the women by the end of the day, to evaluate their advances. But with few resources and even less time, Lauren’s and Normani’s talents were more than welcome.

Given the heavy schedule and the amount of time the women spent together, friendships and groups had been formed and Lauren’s quartet was no exception. She found herself getting closer and closer to Camila and, even under Normani’s watchful and at times mocking gaze, Lauren couldn’t stop herself from developing light feelings for her new friend. It was hard not to when Camila revealed herself kinder, more caring and dedicated each day that went by. Even if her sense of humor sucked, Lauren couldn’t help the way she laughed loudly at Camila’s awful jokes. And even though she was almost sure she was being delusional, there were times when Lauren had thought she’d caught Camila looking at her lips, staring at her for a little bit too long or even blushing just by being near her.

Normani insisted that those were all obvious indications that she was interested, but Lauren didn’t want to grow too hopeful. Besides, romance hadn’t been the reason they had gone to Engels in the first place and maybe it would be best if she had no distractions.

The other addition to their group, Dinah, was always by Normani’s side. The two girls had become friends instantly, much like Lauren and Camila, but without the light – and obvious, according to Normani – tension that they had between them. Dinah was great at pulling pranks, always lighting up the others’ moods if they were having a bad day, and her sarcasm was only a match for Normani’s. It wasn’t unusual for the two to join forces to embarrass both Lauren and Camila, which Normani was sure only further proved her point about her friend’s feelings being mutual.

Lauren wished Normani would stop filling her head with such thoughts.

But then Lauren remembered the air-to-air combat simulations, she remembered sitting beside Camila as her pilot while the younger girl made dramatic and completely unreal gunfire noises, laughing every time they hit “the enemy”. She remembered winning the so called battles against the men that had been asked to come to their training to make it harder and she remembered Camila’s smile after each win, a smile from which were born stars, Lauren was sure. She remembered hitting their targets during bombing simulation and the way Camila’s first action after landing and getting off the plane was to throw herself at Lauren’s arms, with a kind of happiness that never failed to brighten up her day. Lauren remembered the desolation on the smaller girl’s face when she had been permanently paired with Dinah, who, according to her, despite being her best friend, “just wasn’t the same as flying with Lauren”.

Lauren remembered all of that and, in a heartbeat, she forgot all about not growing too hopeful and wished with all her heart that Normani was right.

* * *

“Do you think it will all go back to normal when the war ends?” Camila whispered, so as to not wake up the other women.

Lauren lay on her side, facing her friend. Camila had escaped her own bed to keep her company, like they’d done many times before, since all the beds were distributed in five huge bedrooms with approximately one hundred and twenty bunk beds each. Unfortunately, only Camila and Lauren had been designated to the same room, while Normani and Dinah had been put in two different ones. That way, it was common that they stayed up talking into the night, even if they got tired the next day, and the whole thing had become easier after Camila had convinced the woman who used to sleep above Lauren on their bunk bed to change beds with her. On that day, though, all the other women had already gone to sleep but, for some reason, Lauren had never felt more awake.

“I don’t know, Camz. I really don’t.” She answered, staring deeply into Camila’s eyes, the smaller girl soon lowering them as if lost in thought. Lauren guessed they weren’t the good kind of thoughts, so she tried to get Camila’s attention again. “I hope so. I hope my family’s okay.”

“Where do they live?” Camila asked after hesitating for a moment.

Lauren looked away. “Leningrad.”

Camila gasped and Lauren didn’t fail to notice it, letting out a shaky breath herself. The siege of Leningrad became stronger with each passing day, only worsening the situation of the civilians. According to their superiors, food supplies were decreasing in quantity and quality, power had run out long ago and many factories had been closed. People starved and even though the cold wasn’t too intense yet, soon winter would come. Trees were already being used as a power source since October, but that wasn’t enough. Lauren could only expect the war to end before irreversible damage was caused; she couldn’t stand the idea of her city, her friends, her family being destroyed.

“I’m sorry, Lo, I didn’t mean to react that way, I-” Lauren interrupted Camila’s somewhat frantic apology with a hand gently holding her wrist.

“It’s fine. My family will be okay, we’ll save them. The war will end before something happens to them.” Lauren stated, trying to convince herself more than Camila with the false confidence in her voice.

Camila’s wide brown eyes slowly returned to normal as time passed and Lauren moved her hand from her friend’s wrist to her hand.

“I don’t wanna lose you.” Camila whispered.

“You won’t.” Lauren answered simply.

“I don’t mean only to death.” Camila shook her head. “I mean, I obviously want you to live, but… when this is all over, I don’t want you out of my life.”

“But… what about your family’s farm?” Lauren asked, frowning.

“I never wanted to live in the country or work on a farm. Like, crops are fine, but they’re not for me. I’m sure they’ll understand as long as I keep in touch, which I absolutely plan on doing.” Camila explained, getting a little closer to Lauren, whose heart was beating wildly inside her chest. “I could live in Leningrad, close to you and… I mean, if you wanted me around, of course.” She seemed nervous, as if she really considered that Lauren could reject her.

Lauren brought their intertwined hands to her lips and kissed Camila’s knuckles lightly. “Of course I want you around.”

When Lauren lowered their hands and looked into Camila’s eyes again, they were focused on her lips. The girl’s breathing seemed a little erratic, just like her own, but, even in such close proximity – maybe because of it –, Lauren managed to control herself, trying to keep her feelings from speaking louder than reason. Camila didn’t feel the same as her, if Lauren did what she wanted to do, she would probably end their friendship and become disgusting to her friend. She couldn’t-

Her line of thought was interrupted when, not a second later, Lauren felt Camila’s lips on her own. The touch was so light that Lauren wondered if she wasn’t dreaming. But then Camila’s lips were gone and their absence left an unexplainable cold in Lauren that confirmed that yes, that had really happened.

“F- forgive me. I, I’ll go to my bed now. Fuck, what have I done? Honestly, I’m _so_ sorry, Lo, I mean, Lauren! It won’t happen again, I swear.”

Lauren still had her eyes closed and a dumb little smile on her face, as if she were in some kind of trance, when she noticed the weight that had been lifted from the bed and Camila’s words started to sink in. Panic overtook her when she realized her friend had the same doubts she’d had, so she hastily stood up as well and held onto Camila’s wrist.

They were both standing up, both breathing heavily and erratically, calming themselves and staring at each other. Then, Lauren looked around and, after making sure that all the other women were asleep, closed the distance between them and kissed Camila once again.

* * *

As time went by, the war was getting worse and so was the collective mood. Fear was creeping into the hearts of the aviators and they were all anxious to finish training and be assigned to a specific regiment. The only thing that helped ease the tension was the companionship of other women, always trying to lift everyone’s moods. Sure, some of them fared better than others, but, generally speaking, all of them, not only the aviators but the mechanics, for example, managed to keep themselves on good spirits.

One specific mechanic touched the heart of the quartet and turned into a group of five. Ally was small and, despite being a little shy at first, her happy and optimist aura, just like her kindness and quirky sense of humor, managed to charm the four friends, who soon got used to finding simultaneous breaks for aviators and mechanics so they could all be together. Because the mechanics’ work was inconstant since their training had ended and the cold was unforgiving toward the planes, moments in which the five could just hang out were becoming rarer and rarer, but those would be forever stored in their memories as some of the best they’d had.

But this wasn’t the only change in the group. Winter brought along the severe Russian cold and with it, a certain desolation took hold of many people. The families of four out of the five friends were safe, but with each passing day that the siege of Leningrad went on, Lauren became more worried with her own. She even cried herself to sleep a few times, when she thought everyone else was asleep. One night, though, Camila realized what was happening and moved to Lauren’s bed to calm her down and keep her company. From this day on, the number of nights they secretly slept together was multiplied, even if it was necessary to wake up a little earlier to change beds before anyone could notice. Lonely nights were now in the past and even though both could still feel lonely from time to time, Lauren never cried again.

Months had passed since their first kiss and what Lauren felt for Camila had only grown. Her biggest wish, besides the ending of the war, was that the feeling was mutual.

Lauren thought that they were, _felt_ that they were, by the way their relationship progressed. Even though they had obviously argued a few times, they were almost always together. It wasn’t unusual to find them laughing in a corner on their spare time, even when the other girls in their group were free as well. It wasn’t unusual that they hugged or stared at each other for too long, or that they exchanged words of affection, but no one suspected a thing, even after another aviator had woken up in the middle of the night and found both of them talking on the same bed. On Camila’s twentieth birthday, Lauren was the one to lead the preparations of her simple birthday party and no one thought anything of it. After all, even though they made the best of their time alone by kissing and even going further than that sometimes, even though they had already defined themselves as girlfriends, their dynamic was basically the same. The only people who really knew what was going on were Normani and Dinah, who knew Camila liked girls since the two were teenagers and had no problem with it.

When the day finally came that Marina Raskova would seal their fate by assigning them to a specific regiment so that the advanced training could begin, after six months in Engels, Lauren and Camila waited for the news with intertwined hands and pounding hearts. Normani had been the first of the group to be notified, proudly declaring herself a part of the 586th Fighter Regiment to all her friends. That was the regiment all of them wanted to be a part of, with its powerful and quick Yakovlev Yak-1 planes.

So when Lauren was told that she’d be a part of the 588th Night Bomber Regiment, she couldn’t help the disappointment she felt in herself for not proving that she was good enough for the 586th. She had learned to fly before ever beginning training and had helped instruct her companions, but now she would have to fly the slow PO-2, that had been used for basic training. The fact that Dinah and Camila would be in the same regiment as Lauren wasn’t enough to banish from her chest the shameful feeling of disappointment – and, she was even more ashamed to admit, even a little bit of jealousy of Normani –, but it would have to be quickly forgotten and put aside, since they would soon begin advanced training.

Camila had also helped Lauren get over the fact by holding her that night, whispering words of comfort and encouragement, as well as kissing her softly so that she would feel her love in unsaid words. It helped her focus on what really mattered: doing her best to get rid of the fucking Nazis. Maybe then, after overcoming some obstacles, Lauren could put her mind and energy into happier goals, like living a long and healthy life beside Camila.

In that moment, Lauren wished her purpose wasn’t stained with blood, but bathed in love.

* * *

Advanced training finally began, but not before some adjustments were done. It was the base commander’s wish that all the women cut their hair, since, according to him, their long locks made them not soldierly enough. Many of the women had been horrified with the order due to the regional customs that held great esteem for longer hair; they would never even dream of cutting it on normal circumstances. Among them were Camila and Dinah. The former had cried for almost an entire hour while the latter consoled her, her own lip trembling while she tried to keep the tears in her eyes from spilling.

Lauren, Ally and Normani had also been quite sad with the order, but not as much as the other two, who they also comforted for hours. By the end of the day they had decided to cut each other’s hairs and Dinah, even in her fragile emotional stated, offered to do so since she had great experience from cutting her brothers’ hairs. Ally, who had been trying to find something she could do to help, ended up cutting Dinah’s hair for her, with all the delicacy and carefulness she had in her tiny being.

It was Lauren’s turn to take care of Camila during the night, even if it broke her heart to watch her girlfriend in such a state of desolation. On that night, Lauren told Camila she loved her for the first time, that she would love her with or without her long hair, no matter what, how or where, forever. Lauren had barely finished talking when Camila started crying again, throwing the green eyed girl into a panic that only subdued when Camila laughed softly and kissed her deeply before whispering that she loved her too, today, tomorrow, always.

Despite the circumstances, Lauren had never felt so happy.

* * *

Two months of advanced training had been enough to rid the young aviators of any thoughts of regiments or haircuts. Marina Raskova herself had stated that the posts had been chosen according to the individual abilities of each woman and Lauren had to admit that she and the girl she had been training with for months, her partner, Lucy, were indeed in their best when their mission was bombing, not air-to-air combat.

Even so, it was hard to deal with the rudimentary instruments they had. The PO-2, originally used for basic training, had an improvised bomb launching system, with wire cables jury-rigged to the planes’ wings, and they could only carry up to two bombs, adding up to less than one ton of weight. But if those were the planes that would lead them to victory, so be it. The more time went by, the less Lauren was ashamed of being a part of the 588th Regiment; in fact, she had grown incredibly proud of it, their skills impressive even in the most adverse situations.

By the end of training, Lauren was anxious to go into battle. She was also scared shitless, but she tried to not let fear overtake her. That would be the first step toward defeat and Lauren wouldn’t admit anything but victory. The thought didn’t leave Lauren’s mind even once as she got ready for the party that had been planned by their superiors as a goodbye to Engels. Tomorrow they would leave for war and she wanted to enjoy her last moments of relative tranquility without thinking about the high chance that she would die in the near future, so she shook off the thoughts of battle from her mind as soon as she was done.

The men training in Engels had also been invited to the ball, but they were the last thing on Lauren’s mind as she walked toward the ballroom. After all, the only person she would have eyes for tonight was Camila. Her stomach turned in anticipation each time she thought of her girlfriend and she couldn’t get her smile off her face in a single moment of her walk.

When Lauren finally got to the party, her smile only widened. The music was soft and the rhythm, perfect for slow dancing. There was food and drinks in abundance and everyone there was dressed in their finest clothes, just like her. A long time had passed since Lauren last had a night like this, without a single concern besides how much fun she would have. And the fact that she would share it with three girls that she could only call her best friends and her _girlfriend_ , for whom she had nothing but an enormous amount of love, only made it all the better _._ In that moment, as her eyes ran across the room, she barely remembered that they were at war and that the true hardships would begin the next day.

When Lauren’s gaze found the person she had been looking for, her breath caught in her throat. Camila was beautiful with her long red dress and her short hair graciously styled. She was laughing loudly beside Dinah, with one hand holding her drink and one clutching her belly, almost bent forward in laughter. Lauren felt her own stomach fill with what she could only call butterflies, no matter how cliché she considered the expression. The pandemonium in her heart only got wilder when Dinah touched Camila’s shoulder and nodded toward Lauren, making her girlfriend turn to look at her. The way Camila’s face lit up at seeing her made her own smile stretch to a level Lauren would have probably deemed impossible.

“You look beautiful.” Camila said as soon as she got close, without even giving her the chance to say hello. “The green in your dress brings out your eyes.”

Lauren felt her face get warm and looked down, trying to hide her blush while she considered herself unable of talking.

“You’re always beautiful, but I must say that today…” Lauren looked up, smiling again. “Today you look just… _stunning_.” She breathed out.

It was Camila’s turn to blush, but it was as if the tips of her lips were permanently glued to her face and her smile didn’t waver one bit. Lauren took advantage of the moment to hug her quickly, breathing in Camila’s particular scent, that she had grown to love over the months.

“You two are disgusting, you know?” Dinah said feigning distaste, but the huge smile on her face and the chuckle she let out after speaking made it clear that she was joking.

Lauren and Camila also laughed as they pulled back and took a step back from each other to avoid attracting unwanted attention. Lauren was tempted to pull her girlfriend into her arms, but she didn’t, knowing that the consequences of such action would be worse than simply undesirable.

“A wonderful night to you too, Dinah.” Lauren exclaimed excitedly, making the taller girl roll her eyes.

“The happiness of others makes me sick.” Dinah deadpanned and Lauren wanted to tell her to shut up, but the only thing she managed to do was laugh again, especially after Camila lightly slapped her best friend on the arm.

If the night started well, it only got better as it went on. Normani and Ally eventually arrived and joined the group, the five of them taking turns to form pairs and dance among themselves – Dinah and Normani with every intention of helping out Camila and Lauren, although Ally had no idea that all the dancing wasn’t just about having fun. After some time, though, the mechanic had lamented that that would be their last night together until the end of the war. The thought left the group of five in a contemplative silence for a while, the girls just enjoying each other’s presence and, in Lauren’s case, wondering how she would live after the war ended. If she didn’t die, that is.

Lauren shook her head to get those thoughts out of her mind, sighed and announced that she would get another drink. When she came back, though, the scene she found wasn’t what she would call ideal. Three young men were talking to her friends, which would be normal if it wasn’t for the way one of them was standing, too close to Camila and almost leaning over her, making his intentions pretty clear to Lauren.

Now, Lauren didn’t consider herself a jealous person. She had never fought with her siblings for her parents’ attention or for toys, she had never been jealous of Normani, her best friend, when she hung out with other people. Lauren didn’t consider herself a jealous person, certainly not a possessive person, but the moment her eyes found Camila’s, her face began to warm up and she had to control her breathing. Maybe it was the way the boy was treating her girlfriend, her obvious discomfort with the situation, or maybe it was just because it was Camila. Either way, the widening of the girl’s brown eyes and the slight shaking of her head were enough to warn Lauren that she needed to calm down. The fact that she had drunk for an hour straight made it a little harder, so she stayed back to take a few deep breaths before rejoining the group.

When she deemed herself capable of walking over to them without causing a scene, Lauren positioned herself between Ally and Normani, thinking it would be suspicious if she simply barged in and got between the aviator and Camila. Her arrival got everyone’s attention, though, and the boys politely introduced themselves. The one who had been bothering Camila, Austin, even took a step to the side, maybe realizing that his efforts would be in vain. For a while Lauren thought that their conversation was enjoyable and even fun, especially because of the aviator standing next to Ally, who was nothing short of hilarious.

But her fun exponentially diminished as the guy next to Camila – whose name Lauren had already forgotten, being the irrelevant little shit that he was – slowly found the guts to keep trying to seduce her girlfriend. He started by getting closer again, leaning over her, touching her arm more times and for more time than normal. Lauren tried to ignore her jealousy every single one of those moments and for a while she managed to do just that, partially because of Normani, who tried to distract her and ease the tension her friend knew she was feeling. But when the little shit put his arm around Camila’s waist, trying to pull her close, while she fidgeted under his touch, Lauren thought the situation had gone too far.

“Gentlemen, I, um, don’t feel very well. I think I’m going to go outside for some fresh air.” Lauren stated, taking advantage of her flustered state to come up with an excuse. “Camila, would you come with me?”

“Of course.” Camila answered hastily, looking at the boys in the circle and nodding. “Excuse me, I’ll be right back.”

In no time they were out of the ballroom, but Lauren didn’t stay still for long. Holding her girlfriend’s hand, she took her to the back of the building, where, hidden in the shadows and the darkness of the night, no one would bother them. Camila had laughed as Lauren pulled her, but the aviator didn’t see humor on the situation. The only thing she felt was desire and, even in the most complete darkness, she noticed when Camila’s demeanor changed, when she stopped laughing and her breathing became heavy.

The kisses they exchanged that night were maybe the most significant ones in their relationship, even if the time they spent behind the ballroom wasn’t all that long. They had begun full of desire, feverish even, but had become soft and slow, full of love and promises that they couldn’t voice. When they went back into the party, approximately twenty minutes after having left it, Lauren realized that the next day could be the last she would ever see Camila. The thought caused a lump to form in Lauren’s throat, but she fought the tears, knowing that she needed to be strong.

She needed to be strong to not let herself be distracted by fear, to make a difference, to help save the Soviet Union. More than everything, though, she needed to be strong for those she loved, for her family in Leningrad, for Normani, for the friends she’d made in Engels and for Camila, who reinforced Lauren’s belief that she couldn’t live without her each passing day, with gestures as simple as a chaste kiss or a smile.

* * *

The engine, the wind and the gunfire were so loud that Lauren thought she would go deaf. Even with her helmet and all the gear, the noise was so loud that every time she got off the plane, Lauren wondered if she wouldn’t damage her hearing somehow. Everyone assured her that what she wore was enough to protect her ears, but it was hard to believe it when the only thing louder than all of that was the voice inside her head screaming at her to stay alive.

If any pilot said they weren’t scared as they dodged the heavy fire shot at them from the ground, at the aim of strategically organized searchlights and flak guns, trying to distract the German soldiers, they would be lying.

The strategy that turned the 588th Regiment into a Nazi nightmare consisted of two airplanes drawing to themselves the attention of the searchlights and flak guns positioned around their usual targets, like camps, while a third one bombed the target without much resistance. The three planes took turns in dropping their bombs, so that there were always two distracting the soldiers on the ground while a third one did its job. The strategy was so successful and the aviators were so deadly that the enemy had begun calling them The Night Witches, a title that they were damn proud of.

Distracting the searchlight operators was a task that demanded attention, control and perfection on their maneuvers. Most of all, it demanded nerves of steel and a strong spirit that didn’t break under pressure and fear. The situation was even more intense when a few bullets hit the plane in places that wouldn’t damage it to the point of causing a wreckage. Those were the nights when Lauren returned with wholes in her simple PO-2 and her stomach in even more knots than usual.

Lucy, her navigator, had a big part in the success of their missions and, despite all the stress and terror, so far they hadn’t failed a single bombing. If that had happened, it was more than likely that they would be both dead, since they didn’t carry parachutes with them. The weight would only make them slower and, besides, Lauren would rather die than be taken prisoner.

Finally, Lauren was informed that the third plane had dropped its bombs and they could leave. Maneuvering around gunfire, with sweat dripping from her face in spite of the cold night, Lauren got away from the searchlights and joined the two other planes in her group so they could go back to the base.

Her heartbeat slowed down as they left the German camp behind, but she knew that it would probably speed up again soon. After all, they usually flew more than one mission a day and the night had just started.

As they landed, Lauren noticed that another group had also just arrived and her heart jumped inside her chest when she saw who it was. Every time Camila was out on a mission, Lauren felt as if she wouldn’t be able to breathe from worry, a feeling she had quickly learned to ignore, because she needed to focus to keep herself alive. It was basically how she dealt with the anguish of not knowing how her family was doing, but maybe a little worse, since they didn’t leave in suicide missions _every night_.

Lauren congratulated and hugged all of the women in her team and then excused herself to sprint toward Camila and Dinah. As usual, the first one to see her was Dinah, who turned her friend around in time for the both of them to be caught in Lauren’s desperate hug. Dinah hugged back with just as much intensity, but Camila seemed too surprised to react at first, which made Lauren laugh. When Dinah pulled back and stepped to the side to give them some privacy, though, Camila seemed to get over the surprise and wrapped her arms tightly around Lauren.

“Hi.” Camila whispered, nuzzling her face into the crook of Lauren’s neck.

“I didn’t die.” She laughed in response, remembering a conversation they’d had earlier.

“Can you promise me you won’t die on your next one?” Camila asked as she pulled back from the hug.

Lauren’s smile vanished. “You know I can’t, Camz.”

“Can you promise to try? It’s your birthday tomorrow and I don’t think I’d bare to spend it without you.” Camila asked, holding onto Lauren’s arm.

Lauren felt her throat closing when her girlfriend mentioned her birthday. She would turn twenty-one dirty, cold and risking her life because of a war. Not the best way to celebrate, but victory would surely be the best gift.

Swallowing the lump in her throat to prevent herself from crying, Lauren put a smile on her face and held Camila’s hand. Then, she looked into her eyes, losing herself in them like so many times before.

“That I can promise.”

* * *

The day is September 16th of 1945. The siege of Leningrad had already been defeated, the war had already ended and Lauren’s job had been finished.

Only on this day, over a month after Germany’s surrender, Lauren had been cleared to go home and try to find her family. Over four years had passed since she had last seen them, but, unlike when she first left Leningrad, Lauren wasn’t alone.

As soon as Germany had surrendered, Camila had contacted her parents through letters and not long after she had gotten a reply. She hadn’t expected them to be attacked since their farm was too deep into the country, but she had feared that they would starve, which thankfully hadn’t happened.

Even though there were no targets left to attack, the aviators of the 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Regiment – into which the 588th Regiment had been reorganized –, better known as The Night Witches, still their favorite nickname, were kept ready to act until the definitive end of the war with Japan’s surrender.

But now they were free and Camila’s hand clutched in Lauren’s offered her an incredible amount of comfort, since they had no idea of what or who they would find.

Fortunately, the women of their little group of five had survived, but all of them had relatives to find and matters to work out, so the only one who accompanied her was Camila. Lauren had insisted that she went back to her own family first, but Camila had refused, saying she didn’t want Lauren to go through such a tough moment alone. According to Camila, the letter she’d gotten from her parents guaranteed that they were fine and she had promised to visit them as soon as they found Lauren’s family.

Now that they were in Leningrad, though, Lauren realized that she wasn’t even somewhat close to ready for the devastation that she found. The city was destroyed and, according to the military officers that had taken them there, more than a million people had died among soldiers and civilians.

Lauren was shaking lightly with tears running freely down her face as she saw what had been done to the city that she had called home for twenty years of her life. Noticing her state, Camila turned her around and used her hands to softly wipe the tears from Lauren’s face before hugging her tightly. Lauren reciprocated immediately, holding onto her girlfriend like her life depended on it.

They were standing in front of the Catherine Palace, or what was left of it after the destruction caused by fleeing Germans, and Lauren couldn’t stop sobbing into Camila’s shoulder. The sight must have been a common one those days, since none of the people passing by them even looked twice their way.

When Lauren’s sobs subdued and she judged herself calm enough, she pulled back and ran a hand through her hair, taking a deep breath. It was only after Camila wiped her own tears that Lauren noticed that she was crying as well, though not as much as her. Feeling guilt creeping up on her, Lauren opened her mouth to apologize, but Camila lifted up her hand, interrupting her before she could get a word out.

“Don’t apologize, it’s not your fault.” She said, her voice a little raspy.

Lauren just nodded, not trusting her ability to speak. Camila took one step forward and held onto Lauren’s wrists, making her look deeply into her eyes.

“No matter what happens, I’ll always be by your side. I love you.” Camila softly said, caressing Lauren’s wrists with her thumbs.

“I love you too.” Lauren replied immediately, her voice shaky.

It was Camila’s time to nod with a sad little smile. “Come on, let’s find your family.”

Lauren still hoped she could make her wish come true. The one she had made three and a half years ago, that seemed more like centuries. She had wished to leave behind the bloody purpose she’d found with the war to pursue another one, a purer, more beautiful one.

If luck was on Lauren’s side, her new purpose was about to begin.

**Author's Note:**

> when my contemporary world history professor assigned us with writing a plausible work of fiction about anything at all from the french revolution onward, i couldn’t believe i was gonna be able to write a fanfic on my first semester lmaooo the best thing is that her course is like driven by the history of rights so i was sure it’d be cool to have a little wlw romance (plus i’m like 99% sure she’s not straight so ya).
> 
> anyway i, being the obsessed piece of trash i am, thought of fifth harmony as soon as she said what we’d have to do but i didn’t have a theme. then I remembered this post i’d seen on tumblr about the night witches and i was like “ww2 camren?? hell yesss” and this one shot was born. I obviously used russian names for the actual thing, but I wrote it having their personalities in mind so that i could post it if i wanted to lol. which i just did, after translating (the worse thing I have ever done oh my god), changing the names and adding some cursing here and there lol. 
> 
> it’s a little different from my usual style and a little bit more rushed than i’d like, but my professor almost fainted when i asked her if 9k words was okay lmaoo. hope you liked it anyway! <3
> 
> \- Camila (hedasambassador on tumblr)


End file.
